The King's English

marshallz10(z9-10 CA)November 25, 2012

I just can't pass this up! Fred Reed, that irascible curmudgeon, recently posted a thrashing of our loss of style in writing and speaking. He cites Strunk and White's Elements of Style but offers up and earlier style manual:

These rules are given roughly in order of merit; the last is also the least. It is true that it is often given alone, as a sort of compendium of all the others. In some sense it is that: the writer whose percentage of Saxon words is high will generally be found to have fewer words that are out of the way, long, or abstract, and fewer periphrases, than another; and conversely. But if, instead of his Saxon percentage's being the natural and undesigned consequence of his brevity (and the rest), those other qualities have been attained by his consciously restricting himself to Saxon, his pains will have been worse than wasted; the taint of preciosity will be over all he has written. Observing that translate is derived from Latin, and learning that the Elizabethans had another word for it, he will pull us up by englishing his quotations; he will puzzle the general reader by introducing his book with a foreword. Such freaks should be left to the Germans, who have by this time succeeded in expelling as aliens a great many words that were good enough for Goethe. And they, indeed, are very likely right, because their language is a thoroughbred one; ours is not, and can now never be, anything but a hybrid; foreword is (or may be) Saxon; we can find out in the dictionary whether it is or not; but preface is English, dictionary or no dictionary; and we want to write English, not Saxon. Add to this that, even if the Saxon criterion were a safe one, more knowledge than most of us have is needed to apply it. Few who were not deep in philology would be prepared to state that no word in the following list (extracted from the preface to the Oxford Dictionary) is English:�battle, beast, beauty, beef, bill, blue, bonnet, border, boss, bound, bowl, brace, brave, bribe, bruise, brush, butt, button. Dr. Murray observes that these 'are now no less "native", and no less important constituents of our vocabulary, than the Teutonic words'.

Fowler also wrote a style manual for American English although I have not seen it. American English is rich in vocabulary influenced by many languages. Pat loves the influences of the Romance languages. I do too but realize how Germanic our English language still manages to remain.

Steve, you are right about Fred Reed; sometimes he issues lumps of obnoxiousness.

His "lumps of obnoxiousness" are equal opportunity offenders... like his little hit piece, A Plague of Grief Therapy. "They (therapists) seem to pop up at disasters faster than toadstools in damp weather..."

Do check on his misogynistic musings for Fred's full flavor of foulness.

That I have encountered, and that is what keeps me from reading anymore of his commentaries. (Additionally, he writes as if he is passed his limit of alcohol consumption, plus his sense of humor and mine are not in sync.) I depend on the occasional synopsis from Marshall to stay current on his worthwhile comments.

Nancy, I have e-mailed to him my complaints about his intolerance toward women libbers, affirmative action, marriage and the like. No replies. He does brag about his love of vino de Padre... and the local pub where I suspect he composes his missives and sends out his weekly-to-bimonthly emails. Just a guess. He did go to the US to have an operation meant to save what little sight remains, VA facilities I suspect.

Lavender: "People no longer write as they speak...far too many ramblings, reaching for alternative words when the ordinary would suffice and contrived manners." Add to that conscending.

I agree that there are those people. There are also the people whose writing seems so careless to me that they come off (to me) as one or more of these: arrogant, ignorant, or loaded; or any combination of these.

I've noticed the lack of using forms of the verb "to be" in speaking and writing (even here on the forums) and have never known if that is a regionalism or exactly what. The clothes need washed; he needs gone for a bit, etc.

I don't know why that particular thing bothers me more than anything I can put my finger on - I suppose because it sounds and reads sadly untutored.

One runs the risk of their writings coming across as artificial and contrived when they have to or choose to seek out the right or most descriptive word. Writing shouldn't sacrifice its flow and spontaneity for the sake of choosing the best word.

IMO, good writing skills is the ability to put ordinary words together in an extrodinary and interesting manner. In other words (s'cuse the pun), it's the sum of its parts.

Well, here in the land of the West Saxons a single word is often sufficient:)

I grew up with both Fowler books at boarding school, before moving to America and learning another language entirely, as well as Latin with a Virginia accent. 'The King's English' and 'Modern English Usage' are both still on my bookshelf, though not consulted enough.

I love all the varieties of English spoken around the world - that is what has kept the language so dynamic and vibrant, and thank Goodness we don't have any form of 'Academy' fighting to keep the language 'pure'.

Every writer worth his or her salt keeps a dictionary and thesaurus handy. Writing isn't always about using the ordinary, in language. It's about the thought or thoughts contained therein... the story woven.

Talk about weaving: "America's present need is not heroics, but healing; not nostrums, but normalcy; not revolution, but restoration; not agitation, but adjustment; not surgery, but serenity; not the dramatic, but the dispassionate; not experiment, but equipoise; not submergence in internationality, but sustainment in triumphant nationality." (Warren G. Harding, Bloviator Extraordinaire)

That, PNBrown, depends on the source. As far as I am aware, the pen is still mightier than the sword... as they say... in many ways. And knowledge is still power... if one is willing to open the mind and explore...

Everyone here writes in a certain, recognizable style... some take a little getting used to, while others are easier to grasp. Either way, we seem to get along okay in the department of writing and reading.

The primary obstacle to clear writing is, I believe, a deficit in clear thinking. Once a writer knows exactly what he wants to say, putting his thoughts on paper is a straight-forward matter. Adding graceful flow to a paper that already contains a strong and coherent logical flow is simply a matter of fine-tuning.

Actually, language creates thoughts. Without words, we could not think clearly much less communicate thoughts to others.

And style is not some external coat one slips into and out of. Style is more effective and coherent thinking.

Lots of big fancy words and pretentious phrasings are more like gaudy bright-colored boas, especially if you wear several of them--they might get someone's attention, but aren't necessary for most situations since they are intended to distract from the poverty of ideas in the expressions.

Of course, if you are just asking for directions to the next town, the clearest, most direct language is not only sufficient but probably also the best.

I happen to agree with Fred in this particular essay. Perhaps because I grew up with a quite similar background to his own, in the south, of that generation.

He is stating that our language reflects the dumbing-down of our culture, and the increasing reduction of all to the lowest common denominator, the trashing of high standards.

The one thing I would take issue with is rhe preference of the Saxon derived word to those words with roots in the Romance languages. I am fascinated with the time period in English history, after 1066, after William the Conqueror invaded England, when so many French words entered the common language of that day, resulting in a new richness.

We can argue bloviation until the cows come home... but the truth is, some of us enjoy language and words and grammar and punctuation more than others. Some have a penchant for numbers, instead. Arguing language won't change the way most, or all of us express ourselves.

"Lots of big fancy words and pretentious phrasings are more like gaudy bright-colored boas, especially if you wear several of them--they might get someone's attention, but aren't necessary for most situations since they are intended to distract from the poverty of ideas in the expressions."

Remember to never split an infinitive.
A preposition is something never to end a sentence with.
The passive voice should never be used.
Avoid run-on sentences they are hard to read.
Don't use no double negatives.
Use the semicolon properly, always use it where it is appropriate; and never where it isn't.
Reserve the apostrophe for it's proper use and omit it when its not needed.
Do not put statements in the negative form.
Verbs has to agree with their subjects.
No sentence fragments.
Proofread carefully to see if you words out.
Avoid commas, that are not necessary.
If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.
A writer must not shift your point of view.
Eschew dialect, irregardless.
And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.
Don't overuse exclamation marks!!!
Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more words, to their antecedents.
Hyphenate between sy-llables and avoid un-necessary hyphens.
Write all adverbial forms correct.
Don't use contractions in formal writing.
Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided.
It is incumbent on us to avoid archaisms.
If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.
Steer clear of incorrect forms of verbs that have snuck in the language.
Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors.
Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.
Never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their writing.
If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times, resist hyperbole.
Also, avoid awkward or affected alliteration.
Don't string too many prepositional phrases together unless you are walking through the valley of the shadow of death.
Always pick on the correct idiom.
"Avoid overuse of 'quotation "marks."'"
The adverb always follows the verb.
Last but not least, avoid cliches like the plague; They're old hat; seek viable alternatives.
Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.
Employ the vernacular.
Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.
Contractions aren't necessary.
Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
One should never generalize.
Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."
Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
Don't be redundant; don't use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.
Be more or less specific.
Understatement is always best.
One-word sentences? Eliminate.
Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
Who needs rhetorical questions?
Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
capitalize every sentence and remember always end it with a point

In both Nigeria and Ghana, they speak a version of pidgin English thats a blast to listen to - if they do it right, its intentionally hilarious - they make fun of the words and intentionally mis-interpret what they say - sort of rolling puns.

At the link is a utube about a radio show that broadcasts in pidgin - the woman talking about imported pharmaceuticals is almost incomprehensible to my ears, thats the serious stuff. The radio jock is the one who's funny.